In Southeast Asia there has been an explosion of growth in the low cost carrier (LCC) airline market. In some cases, LCCs have taken market share from 10 percent to more than 50 percent over the last 10 years.
To cater for the burgeoning demand, all major airports in the region are planning or are now implementing bigger airport solutions involving either new runways or new passenger terminals.
Furthermore, the declaration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Single Aviation Market (SAM), an initiative that has the potential to enhance trade and tourism across all of the ASEAN nations, is likely to be signed by the end of this year. The introduction of SAM, which could include the relaxation of bilateral agreements and the dropping of visa requirements, should further ignite development and enhance growth opportunities for the airlines and the airports.
Neil Bentley, AECOM vice president, aviation, Asia-Pacific, was recently invited to share his insights on the latest aviation development trends and challenges across Asia in his presentation East Asian Hubs: Planning for the Third Parallel Runway at the fourth Annual Southeast Asia Airport Expansion Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“Investments in infrastructure and human capital at airports are not keeping pace with the growth in the aviation industry across the ASEAN nations, except in a few cases. Many countries have the necessary plans and programs, but seem to be struggling with an effective and timely rollout and implementation of those plans,” said Bentley. Bentley went on to discuss public-private partnerships and how these can be a viable solution to facilitate airport growth.
In the second part of his talk, Bentley mentioned that major hubs in the region are planning for the third parallel runway and then he outlined some typical planning challenges including the third parallel runway not being a part of the original masterplan, difficulties in securing adjacent land, airspace complexities, stand distribution to each side of the center runway and terminal development strategy.
With the rapid development in the aviation industry in Vietnam, the summit provided a good opportunity for different stakeholders in the Southeast Asia region to share best practices in developing and improving aviation infrastructure.